Operation Chromite (SRA-Dakota War)

[Markus Wilding]

"Set scan range."

Sergeant Richardson cleared up the signal as best he could, zooming out on the TV just enough to get an overview of the area. Must have been near Sioux Falls by now. Looked about right for what the pre-op briefing told them about. Lot of activity on the ground, but nobody looked alarmed. They must not have gotten the word yet.

"Uh, TV, confirm you see the water tower?"

"Yeah, I got it," Richardson replied.

"Okay, gunners and TV, reference that water tower for this op. Anything east of it is green to shoot. Don't fire on the water tower, and don't hit any civilian buildings. We are not clear to fire west of the water tower."

"All targets east are good to go, copy."

Richardson zoomed in just a little bit more. Enemy armored vehicles on the ground, looked like wheeled ones that probably provided protection against gunfire. Probably. "Confirmed enemy targets on the road, just next to the main highway."

"Spotted. Is that east of the water tower?"

"Yeah, big time. Go ahead and light them up."

It felt like the entire plane shook as the 105mm opened up. Richardson watched the shell scream down and slam into the ground, annihilating the armored column entirely. "Good hit. I see lots of little pieces down there."

"Heh," the navigator said. "These fucks don't stand a chance. I almost feel bad for them."

---

It began as it almost always does when war comes to America; rapidly and violently. American fighter jets made the first entry on a comprehensive SEAD/DEAD campaign combined with massive electronic warfare intended to deny Dakota the ability to organize a response and activate their air defense network. American bombers and AC-130s followed soon after to engage in strategic and tactical bombing missions, with the latter delegated to engage targets of opportunity in an essentially unlimited interdiction role.

On the ground itself, the Socialist Republic Army marched across the border to make a beeline for strategic enemy positions in order to capture them and overwhelm their command structure. Any resistance encountered was pinned down by artillery fire and then subsequently avoided, held in place by smaller elements while the main attack force continued their advance along a different route. Enemy armored formations encountered received the same treatment, although in those cases they were kept at distance and engaged by American M65A2 tanks while rear-line rocket artillery dropped cluster munitions to defeat the enemy armor without unduly risking American soldiers. The main axes of advance concerned itself primarily with capturing enemy military bases, airfields, and other areas deemed "of strategic importance" while simultaneously denying the Dakota military the ability to quickly and efficiently reinforce.

---

OOC: The SRA sends the following units to the following territories:

To Territory 25:

3 units Artillery
3 units Infantry, Mechanized
6 units Infantry, Motorized
3 units Armor
6 units Fighters
2 units Bombers

To Territory 29:

3 units Artillery
3 units Infantry, Mechanized
4 units Infantry, Motorized
3 units Armor
7 units Fighters
1 unit Bombers

[Markus Wilding]

Dakota had long anticipated a war with the SRA - indeed, military expenditure had increased almost tenfold following Cascadia's annexation into the SRA - so the mass military movement and violence applied to Dakota did not surprise senior officials. They saw their lot as inevitable. Surrounded by at best unfriendly nations, enveloped by the Communist government that had made its position clear, with little hope but appealing to outside help that seemed unwilling to intervene... there was truly little hope left for Dakota.

All they could hope to do was bloody the Americans on their way down.

---

The Dakota military had no delusions of stopping the massed American offensive; that wouldn't happen unless it suddenly gained access to nuclear weapons. Instead, the Dakota strategic goal was to delay and delay, prevent the American military from becoming comfortable by way of harassing attacks and guerrilla warfare. Air dominance was not expected to be anything but in favor of the Americans, and thus the only missions authorized were ones to intercept American bombing runs or attempted runway cratering, with special missions tasked to hunt down and destroy American AC-130s that terrorized the ground forces.

While lasting longer than a few months was deemed fundamentally impossible, at least Dakota could try their hardest to make life hard for the invaders. That much was all they wanted, anyway.

[Markus Wilding]

OOC: Dakota has the following units defending the following territories:

Territory 25:
2 units Artillery
2 units Infantry, Light
1 unit Infantry, Mechanized
2 units Infantry, Motorized
2 units Armor
5 units Fighters
1 unit Bombers

Territory 29:
2 units Artillery
3 units Infantry, Light
2 units Infantry, Mechanized
2 units Armor
5 units Fighters
1 unit Bombers

---

Autocombat was utilized for this round of combat. Both sides are given Advantage scores of 7 in all applicable areas (Ground and Air).

Territory 25

In their attacks, the SRA rolled a 7 and a 2 for ground and air actions, respectively. This results in 2 units of ground losses, 3 units of ground damages, 6 units of air losses, and 7 units of air damages for Dakota. A bombing campaign resulted in an additional 3 units of ground losses, 4 units of ground damages, 6 Industry lost, and 8 Industry damaged.

In their attacks, Dakota rolled a 6 and a 1 for ground and air actions, respectively. This results in 1 unit of ground losses, 1 unit of ground damages, 2 units of air losses, and 3 units of air damages for the SRA. A bombing campaign resulted in an additional 1 unit of ground losses and 2 units of ground damages.

Territory 29

In their attacks, the SRA rolled a 7 and a 4 for ground and air actions, respectively. This results in 2 units of ground losses, 3 units of ground damages, 4 units of air losses, and 5 units of air damages for Dakota. A bombing campaign resulted in an additional 2 units of ground losses, 3 units of ground damages, 4 Industry lost and 6 Industry damaged.

In their attacks, Dakota rolled a 10 and a 1 for ground and air actions, respectively. This results in 1 unit of ground losses, 1 unit of ground damages, 2 units of air losses, and 3 units of air damages for the SRA. A bombing campaign resulted in an additional 1 unit of ground losses and 2 units of ground damages.

[Markus Wilding]

The initial assault began as expected, with American infantry and armor more than a match for their Dakota counterparts man-for-man. Within the first hours of the war, the Socialist Republic Army had convincingly secured Sioux Falls while the battle for Rapid City ended by the end of the first day. American fighters traded blows with the Dakota Air Force over Minneapolis to support continued SEAD missions and an almost obscene amount of munitions dropped on confirmed Dakota Army positions in and around the city. From all accounts, the progress of the SRA was unceasing and only marred by the lackluster performance of the SRAAF in the air which left several units shorthanded and without their expected air support. Some soldiers felt an uncomfortable feeling from California, that they'd been here before with the realization that either the SRAAF would actually shoot down some enemy planes or they'd overrun the airfields.

Following the withdrawal of the 21st and 22nd Infantry Divisions from frontline combat, tactics and strategy remained the same. The SRA continued to head north, intent on decimating any remaining Dakota unit that stood against it.

OOC: The SRA takes the following casualties:

1 unit Infantry, Motorized lost
1 unit Artillery damaged
2 units Fighters lost
2 units Bombers damaged

1 unit Infantry, Motorized lost
1 unit Artillery damaged
2 units Fighters lost
1 unit Bombers damaged
2 units Fighters damaged

[Markus Wilding]

There was sort of a sense of superiority among the remaining soldiers of Dakota.

They knew it was inevitable, that the American juggernaut would come for them eventually. The dream of "sea to shining sea" did not include a rump state sticking out like a sore thumb, cut off from the world and only ticking off the days until it died. The first few months of combat proved deadly to the Dakota military, an unsurprising fact even to the most patriotic observer, but the destruction and chaos wrought by the Americans was only tempered by moderate success in the air. The success did not translate to even destroying half the American bomber corps or preventing full-scale interdiction and bombing runs, but it did result in the loss of dozens of valued American planes, and that alone was an achievement worth celebrating.

By the end of July, Dakota sued for peace. There was no point in further lives lost for spite and stubbornness.

OOC: Dakota took the following casualties in the following territories;

Territory 25

6 units air losses
7 units air damages

2 units Infantry, Light lost
1 unit Infantry, Mechanized lost
2 units Infantry, Motorized lost
2 units Armor damaged - double damage leads to loss
2 units Artillery damaged - double damage leads to loss
5 units Fighters lost
1 unit Bombers lost

Territory 29

3 units Infantry, Light lost
1 unit Infantry, Mechanized lost
1 unit Infantry, Mechanized damaged - double damage leads to loss
2 units Armor damaged
2 units Artillery damaged
4 units Fighters lost
1 unit Fighters damaged - double damage leads to loss
1 unit Bombers damaged - double damage leads to loss